SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

• One notable difference between Libsyn's Classic 50 and its other higher-end versions is in the storage space. The Classic 50 offers 50mb of storage space while Classic 250 offers 250mb. Also, the Advanced 400 offers 400mb, and Advanced 800 has 800mb.
• Advanced 400 and Advanced 800 provide opt-in features of MyLibsyn Premium Paywall. Conversely, Classic 50 and Classic 250 do not have this option.
•  Spreaker's On-Air Talent is a plan that goes for $6 per month if billed yearly and $7 if billed monthly. The features offered include programmatic monetization, up to 45 minutes for every live podcast, customizable RSS feeds, and 100-hour audio storage.
• Spreaker's Broadcaster plan goes for $18 per month if billed annually and $20 if billed monthly. The features include programmatic monetization, customizable RSS feeds, advanced statistics, up to 3 hours for every live podcast, and 500-hour audio storage.
• Spreaker's Anchorman plan goes for $45 per month if billed yearly or $50 per month if billed annually. The key features include full statistics, programmatic monetization, up to 5 hours for every live podcast, customizable RSS feeds, and 1,500-hour audio storage.

RESEARCH STRATEGY

1. SoundCloud

• SoundCloud basic is free while SoundCloud Pro is €5.25/month and SoundCloud pro unlimited is €8.25/month.

Basic

• SoundCloud basic has only 3 features which include 3 hours of upload time, basic embed controls, and access to basic stats.

Pro and Unlimited Pro

• SoundCloud Pro goes a step further and provides 6 hours of upload time and advanced stats that include top listeners and top countries. It also has advanced embed controls that include a mini embed player.
• Both Pro and Pro Unlimited give access to SoundCloud premium if one eligible. This feature allows users to monetize unlimited tracks on SoundCloud and distribute one release to all major music services. In addition, it allows one to replace tracks without losing stats, pin up to 5 tracks on the top of their profile, and a quiet mode that allows one to turn off public stats and comments.
• A glaring difference between the two is that SoundCloud Unlimited Pro has unlimited upload time and provides full stats that include top cities play by websites, RSS apps, and third-party apps. It also has full embed controls that turn off comments, recommendations, and overlays. This will be in addition to all basic and advanced stats features.
• Lastly, Pro Unlimited has scheduled releases that allows one to schedule when their tracks go live.

Reviews and Rating

• SoundCloud has a 2.5/5 star rating on Trust Pilot.
• However, an editor at PCmag reviewed it and gave it a 3.5 rating saying it is a good app.
• The product has also been rated 3.5 by verified users on Amazon.
• SoundCloud has a rating of 4 on SensorTower.

2. Audioboom

• Audioboom has two plans — Podcasters cost $9.99 per month and Podcast Pro's cost has not been disclosed.

Podcasters

• The Podcasters plan allows one to upload unlimited episodes per month and share them via Apple podcasts, iHearRadio, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher.
• Furthermore, it allows upto 10,000 plays on the standard plan or 25,000 plays on the Plus Plan.
• It also provides embeddable plays for a website and social media integration.
• It has advanced analytics with breakdowns by app, device, and geographic region.

Podcast Pro Features

• Podcast Pro has all the basic features of Podcasters Plan but it additionally allows unlimited plays per episode.
• Other features include live reads and host endorsement from all the top podcasts, event and live show sponsorship, access to Audioboom’s targeted ad-network, and branded content partnership opportunities.
• Additionally, one can monetize instantly through the websites targeted ad-network premium sales service. Also, one can use the midroll ad-insertion tool to optimize revenue.
• Lastly, Podcast Pro allows one to manage multiple podcast channels via contributor accounts.

Ratings and Reviews

• Audioboom has received a 3.5/5 rating on Amazon.
• An editor at Software Finder rated the app 3 saying that it has great features but its support is limited to email and it is expensive.
• Audioboom has a rating of 4 on SensorTower.

1. COST OF SIMPLECAST VERSIONS

• Simplecast basic cost $15/month.  
• Simplecase Essential cost $35/month. 
• Simplecast Growth cost $85/month. 

2. FEATURES THAT APPLY TO ALL SIMPLECAST VERSIONS (BASIC, ESSENTIAL AND GROWTH)

• All Simplecast versions have the following features: Trial available, unlimited storage space, unlimited uploads, distribution to all platforms, listener analytics & reports, themed show website, secure RSS feed.
• More features s available to all Simplecast versions are: Read-only API access, standard web player, secure site (https), color customization, Google analytics & Facebook pixel, custom domain (yoursite.com), sharing clip length (90s max), download & share, analytics overview, show & individual episode reports, top episodes, top listening apps, top countries, geographic heatmap, most popular time of day, total recasts shared — coming soon, unique listeners from the last 7 days.

3. FEATURES UNIQUE TO SIMPLECAST BASIC VERSION

• Simplecast Basic version allows one additional team member.
• About 20,000 included downloads per month.

4. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SIMPLECAST BASIC AND SIMPLECAST ESSENTIAL VERSION

• The Simplecast Essential version has all the general Simplecast features listed in heading 2 above.
• In addition, Simple cast Essential has the following features which Simplecast basic version does not have: Mini player, show player, color customization, oEmbed sharing, tracking analytics — coming soon, audience insights — new, customizable download charts, popular day/time matrix, detailed apps & browsers, unique listener reports, web player insights, episode retention, listening speed, player streams and starts, recast insights — coming soon, top share points, and Heatwave™ reports.

5. FEATURES UNIQUE TO SIMPLECAST ESSENTIAL VERSION

• Some features specific to Simplecast Essential version are: 3 additional team members, one custom page — Coming soon, two compare episodes, interactive location map (countries & states/provinces), and 50,000 Included downloads per month.

6. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SIMPLE CAST GROWTH VS ESSENTIAL & BASIC VERSIONS

• The Simplecast Growth version has all features that apply to all versions listed in header 2 above.
• The Simplecast Growth Version also has all features that are not included in Basic but included in Simplecast Essential version listed in header 4 above.
• The features unique to Simplecast Growth version are: Internet providers & listening locations, embed locations & referrers, Sharing locations & referrers, Per episode reports.
• Other features specific to Simplecast Growth version include: 8 additional team members, 3 custom pages — coming soon, 4 compare episodes, Interactive location map (plus cities & metro areas), device types (+ device details), internet providers & listening locations, embed locations & referrers, sharing locations & referrers, per episode reports, and 125,000 included downloads per month

7. SIMPLECAST CUSTOMER REVIEWS AND RATINGS

• Simplecast has 2,635 followers on Twitter and 465 likes on Facebook.

8. COST OF PODBEAN VERSIONS

• The cost of Podbean basic version is $0 per month (always free).
• The cost of Podbean unlimited audio version is $9 per month when billed annually or $14 monthly.
• The cost of Podbean unlimited plus is $29 per month when billed annually, or $39 when billed monthly.
• The cost of Podbean business version is $99 per month when billed annually, or $129 when billed monthly.

9. FEATURES THAT APPLY TO ALL PODBEAN VERSIONS

• The features available to all versions of Podbean (basic, unlimited audio, unlimited plus, and business versions) are: iPhone/Android app, embeddable players, your own podcast site, and RSS feed & iTunes support.

10. FEATURES UNIQUE TO PODBEAN BASIC VERSION

• The features specific to Podbean basic version are 5 hours storage space, 100GB Monthly Bandwidth, Beautiful Podcast Themes (Free Themes), and Comprehensive Podcast Stats (Basic).

11. FEATURES IN PODBEAN UNLIMITED AUDIO BUT NOT IN BASIC VERSION

• The features in Podbean unlimited version but not in the basic version are: map your own domain, Ads marketplace, premium sales, storage space (unlimited), bandwidth (unmetered), and beautiful podcast themes (pro themes).

12. FEATURES SPECIFIC TO PODBEAN UNLIMITED AUDIO

• The features specific to Podbean unlimited audio is custom design (advanced).

13. FEATURES IN PODBEAN UNLIMITED PLUS VERSION

• Podbean unlimited plus version has all the features under header 9 that apply to all Podbean versions.
• Podbean unlimited plus also has all the features listed in header 11 that apply to Podbean unlimited audio.
• Additionally, Podbean unlimited plus have the following features: supports video, custom design (full), Patron Program, PodAds — The SaaS for podcast advertising,

14. FEATURES IN PODBEAN BUSINESS VERSION

• Podbean business version has all the features listed under header 13 that apply to Podbean unlimited plus.
• Additionally, Podbean business version has the following unique features not found in any other Podbean version: multiple podcast channels (two included), multiple admins (two included), private podcast with SSO authentication, remove Podbean branding, live chat support, engagement Intel, and white label apps.

15. PODBEAN CUSTOMER REVIEWS AND RATINGS

• Podbean has 12,761 likes on Facebook and 9,866 followers on Twitter.

RESEARCH STRATEGY

BUZZSPROUT

• The features do not vary for the paid plans, and all of the paid versions include podcast statistics, a podcast website, custom embed players, entry in podcast directories, and 250GB bandwidth per month.
• The primary key difference between the versions are the number of hours that the subscriber can upload audio. The $12,$18, and $24 plans allow for 3,6, and 12 hours of audio uploads per month, with additional hours available for purchase at $4, $3, and $2 per hour respectively. The free version does not allow for extra hours to be purchased.
• The free version differs from the other versions in that it includes ads, episodes are only hosted for 90 days, and have a strict limitation on only uploading 2 hours every month. In contrast, the paid versions host episodes indefinitely, allows free importation of podcast, unlimited storage, and are ad-free.
• If a subscriber starts hitting more than 40,000 episode plays per month, than they will be switched to the Buzzsprout Pro Plan which bills at $49 per month and offers 1 TB of data transfer. This is given to be for those on the way to becoming a "world-renowned" podcast celebrity. Anything that exceeds 1TB is billed at $50 per TB.
• Buzzsprout stands out over competitors for the support and assistance they offer, easy to use platform, and transcription services. Their features such as easy embedding, and transcription services are a unique offering of the company.
• Buzzsprout is rated by many to be the best podcast hosting platform and is also noted to be the best and top free platform showing that even without using paid services the platform offers a premium service.

• Some people compare Buzzsprout's pricing structure to other companies and put that their strategy is simpler as they charge by the number of upload hours.
• The soundbite feature is put to have driven traffic to some reviewers' episodes.
• Buzzsprout stands out over competitors for the support and assistance they offer, easy to use platform, and transcription services. Their features such as easy embedding, and transcription services are a unique offering of the company.

TRANSISTOR

•  Features for the starter version, $19 per month, 10,000 downloads per month, includes unlimited number of podcasts and episodes, and includes up to 2 team members. The professional version, at $49 per month, includes up to 5 team members and increases downloads to 50,000 per month. The business version, $99 per month, allows for ten team members and 150,000 downloads per month. Their annual plans only offer a discount in price and not in the any of the other requirements.
• There is not a free version but they do allow for a 14-day free trial for any version.
• Reviews give that the platform is easy to use and that it looks good. There are no reviews that compare the versions with each other.
• The company also boasts that the platform is built for those trying to build their brand and grow their audience and includes big players like Kickstarter and Cards Against Humanity.

STRATEGY

CASTOS

• Starter plan provides features such as unlimited storage, unlimited episodes, one-click import for your existing content, personalized podcast website, in-depth listener analytics, automated episode transcriptions, premium podcasting subscriptions, and audio podcast hosting. The price of the plan is $19 per month.

• Out of all the features provided by Castos, the starter plan does not include video podcast hosting and video republishing to YouTube.

• The growth plan includes all the features from the starter plan and also video republishing to YouTube. The price of the growth plan is $34 per month.

• The pro plan includes all the features from the starter plan and also video podcast hosting for the users. The price of the pro plan is $47 per month.

• The difference between the growth plan and the pro plan is that while the growth plan provides video republishing to YouTube, the pro plan doesn’t provide this feature. When it comes to the pro plan, it provides video podcast hosting features, but the growth plan doesn’t provide this feature.

• There are no other plans except for these three plans. Castos doesn't offer free plans, but they do offer a 14-day trial for the existing plans.

• According to reviews, the starter plan only allows its user to podcast audio content without any additional features.

• The growth plan allows users to republish their content to Youtube with podcast art. Once this feature is set up, Castos automatically publishes content to YouTube for its users.

• The pro plan allows users to record their podcasts natively in a video environment. Castors provide the first two months free for users who purchase the pro plan a year in advance.

CAPTIVATE

• All three podcast plans provide the same features which are advanced analytics, unlimited podcasts, includes podcast player, free show importing, lead generation, automatic podcast website, unlimited team members, and podcast marketing. Since all three plans provide the same features, there is no difference in the packages when it comes to features.

• The plans are differentiated based on the number of downloads per month. The price of the podcaster plan is $19 per month and offers 10,000 downloads per month.

• The price of the audio influencer plan is $49 per month and offers 50,000 downloads per month.

• The price of the podcast brand plan is $99 per month and offers 120,000 downloads per month.

• There are no other plans except for these three plans. Captivate doesn't offer free plans, but they do offer a 7-day trial for the existing plans.

• According to reviews, all three plans are up to the same level since they provide the same features.

• The number of downloads provided for the packages is also very satisfactory.

RESEARCH STRATEGY

BASIC PODOMATIC

• The Basic Podomatic account is free with no strings attached.
• It features 15 GB bandwidth per month with 500 MB storage.
• The basic version has no expiration date.
• Reviews of this product version had an average rating of 4 by users on G2 crowd. Users highlight its low cost service but complain about the poor user interface and download times.

PRO PODOMATIC

• The Pro Podomatic version is offered at $8.32 per month annual plan ($99.84 annually).
• It features 100 GB bandwidth per month with 2 GB storage.
•  Users looked forward to upgrading to this version because of its features.

PRO PLUS PODOMATIC

• The Pro Plus Podomatic version is offered at $12.49 per month annual plan ($149.88 annually).
• It features 200 GB bandwidth per month with 2.5 GB storage.
• Users failed to validate the selling proposition of this product.

PRO PLATINUM PODOMATIC

• The Pro Platinum Podomatic version is offered at $20.82 per month annual plan ($249.82 annually).
• It features 500 GB bandwidth per month with 5 GB storage.
• User complained of poor user experience contrary to its marketing.

BROADCASTER PODOMATIC

• The Broadcaster Podomatic version is offered at $600 annually.
• It features a dedicated podcast website with weebly hosting, unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth, and free Podomatic advertisements.
• Customers noted that the product version is not worth it given that cheaper versions have down time challenges.